Puppet Master's Broken Doll
by Enjeru
Summary: YGO contest entry, Round Five; Dollshiping. Bakura just wanted Ryou to say those three little words, was that too much to ask for? Bigger problems arise when the past comes back to haunt you.


Okay, so I had something else in mind when I started writing and then I just kinda let it write itself into something totally different. Oh well...

A/N: I'm just hoping everyone gets the dollshipping of this, cause I kinda morphed the ship into something a bit more metaphorical…I guess.

YGO contest, round 5; Dollshipping (**Yami Bakura** x **Dark Necrofear**)

Disclaimer: …..PENGUINS…..

Enjoy!

* * *

The first time they met was online, Bakura had found a teen that looked remarkably like him, the same white hair and brown eyes, the boy even had _his_ name; he promptly bitched Ryou out for identity theft.

Their first few conversations revolved around Bakura's rude comments and Ryou trying to explain that their similarities were simply coincidence.

They stopped talking to each other after two weeks, Ryou had better things to do then waste his time on an immature and temperamental prick. Bakura found for some unexplained reason he couldn't stop viewing his counterpart's profile.

Ryou had hopes, dreams, and ambitions.

Bakura was just obsessive.

A month after their first exchange, Bakura manage to stalk Ryou down at a RPG forum. Ryou was into role playing, Bakura was into Ryou. Suspicious at first at the older male's intentions, Ryou stayed guarded against Bakura's requests to join in.

Six weeks after their first encounter they played Monster World together, that same night Ryou laughed at Bakura's fumbling attempts to play a game he didn't understand and was impressed by how fast he caught on. For a moment, Ryou let his walls crumble and found this egotistical, vulgar, arrogant man…some-what charming.

This was no mere coincidence, this was fate.

Within a year the two finally met, Bakura packed what little he had to his name and flew from his home in Egypt to come face to face with his doppelganger at the front door of a small London apartment. Within the hour the two males had their first big fight, however knowing Bakura had nowhere else to go Ryou put him up for the night anyway. Room and board did not come cheap though, Ryou had two conditions in exchange for his generosity; Bakura would find a way back to Egypt within the month and once he was gone they were to never to meet again. Ryou was in denial to the chemistry stirring between them, Bakura was gladly throwing fuel to the fire.

The first few days living together were tense; the second week London was visited by reoccurring thunderstorms. Trapped in by the weather for severally days the boys started playing board games, the tension started to ebb. To distract Ryou from the fact that a month had gone, he initiated their first kiss. Not long after he initial much more, Ryou was no longer a virgin.

Bakura did not focus on job hunting or getting home, he spent all his energy on learning all he could of his host. He adored figuring out the little quirks that made Ryou who he was, like how he's such a clean freak he even folded his socks or how he always chewed on his inner lip when playing strategy games or even how he always smell so distinctively like vanilla despite using watermelon shampoo. Bakura figured out that even though he got up early in the morning Ryou would still stay up late to hang out with his roommate. Ryou liked reading a book twice in a row. Ryou's favorite ice cream flavor was mint chocolate chip. Ryou doesn't like the cold; either that or he just used it as an excuse to cuddle with Bakura.

With each new thing he learned about Ryou he felt like he was collecting something precious, like priceless gems just waiting, taunting Bakura to find them. He ravaged the boy of the treasures he kept hidden from the world.

Bakura called it _bonding_ where as Ryou called it an invasion of personal space.

With Bakura's constant need to satisfy his curiosity it was not surprising that he'd learn of Ryou's business. Opting for a smaller place (which was cheaper) Ryou had saved up the difference made each month when his father sent him a check, once he had enough he bought the corner store off the main street dead end and back alley junction. It wasn't the best part of the shopping district, border-line shady actually, but it was cheap and quant and for Ryou it was perfect.

Bakura's first guess when he decided to stalk his landlord to work was that it would be an occult shop, the outside décor suggested old English, but then again occult was more his thing not Ryou's. Bakura then thought it could be a bakery, Ryou did seem to like those cream puffs…Bakura groaned at the notion, as if Ryou needed any more reasons to be made fun of.

When Bakura decided to sneak up to the front window to get his first peek into store, praying it wasn't something girlie, he was stunned to find rows of porcelain figures.

A doll shop.

* * *

****

_Now the story begins…_

**_

* * *

_**

_The dusty winds of his homeland were blowing through his hair, he liked it this way; away from the city, out in the open. The heat came off the wind in soothing waves, the cool breeze from the east causing goose bumps to appear on his sun-kissed skin._

"_My son, come."_

_His mother's voice was rich and melodic and it rode on the breeze to call him to her. The familiarity of his native tongue brought a pang to his heart, how he had missed this voice._

_"Come my son, come back to me."_

_

* * *

_

_August. London, England._

Bakura grimaced as the sun shone through the blinds of the guest bedroom, a little too brightly in his opinion, groaning he reached out blindly for the bed side clock.

"It's too fucking early fo-" the clock read half past one in the afternoon, "scratch that." Tossing the alarm somewhere with no care to its landing success, he (unfortunately) left the warmth of the bed to seek out the other occupant of the house. The hallways were packed with boxes, different shapes and sizes littered the floor, Bakura briefly wonder in which box his clothes were packed (he'd been wearing the same cotton sleep pants around the house for three days now).

Yawning and scratching at his bare chest he thought back to his dream, the same dream he'd been having since he was eight, something seemed off about it but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Mornin'" he managed to mumble as he collapsed into a kitchen chair. Ryou, cutting up one of their lasts steaks for a stew merely shook his head.

"Honestly, 'Kura, it's nearly two P.M. You need to get your act together, or else how are you going to handle the time difference?"

"I did fine when I moved here with you."

"That was two hours difference, we're talking about Japan, 'Kura! That's nine hours difference and don't think for a minute I'll baby you and let you sleep in, Father's not supporting us anymore so you gotta pull your own weight."

The doll shop wasn't doing so well these days, not in the London scene anyway. A lot of Ryou's current business was now strictly web based; he noticed a majority of the orders coming from Japanese consumers. The next thing Bakura knew Ryou comes home with a huge smile on his face, expressing in excitement that they were leaving the country… 'boy, what a day that was'. Bakura rolled his eyes and pushed his chair back; coming up behind Ryou he wrapped his arms around the younger boy's lithe body.

"You're right," Bakura nibbled on Ryou's earlobe, "I've been such a bad tenant, I promise I'll pay you back somehow, Yadonushi-sama. OW!" Bakura rubbed the cheek Ryou had just smacked with the ladle.

"I didn't get you that Japanese dictionary so you could find new ways to creep me out. Learn the language properly!" Bakura rubbed at the side of his face with a frown. 'Man, when Ryou gets under stress he sure becomes bitchy.'

"Geez, that time of the month already?"

Ryou turned bright red and stirred the stew more vigorously, "You're such a jerk!"

* * *

_It was his favorite lullaby, he couldn't make out the words, but he knew that tune. He only heard it here in this place…where was he anyway? Realizing for the first time his eyes were closed, he went to open them and froze. A small part of his mind warned him, urged him to not look at what may or may not be there._

_How can you fear that of which you do not see? If he didn't look then he wouldn't have to be afraid. He clenched his tiny fists as the tune faded to silence, he hated silence. Fear gripped at his heart now that two of his senses had become useless, what was there? Dare he look?_

"_My son…"_

_He gave a sigh of relief; his mother was here, she would protect him. Recognition set in, he was six and there were thieves (not burglars, to be robbed by burglars you had to have nice things) in his house, father was here this night too. He remembered, Father went to stop the bad men; he was so brave he would surely scare the thieves from our house._

…

_And yet, Father was taking an awful long time, "Mama?"_

"_Yes, my son?"_

"_Hum me the lullaby."_

_Her soft humming was right next to his ear and he shivered, anxious to find her and hide in her arms. He wanted to feel safe. Where on earth was Father? The humming stopped quite abruptly, no! 'Not the silence! Anything but the silence!'_

_A gunshot echoed in his ears, he screamed in fright and made the mistake of opening his eyes._

_

* * *

_

_September. Domino, Japan._

"Father!" Bakura shot up from the bed in a cold sweat, his eyes searching the dark room trying to adjust, realizing it was just a dream he blinked and tried to gain control of his labored breathing. His whole body slumped as he slowly forced himself to relax, 'just calm yourself'.

Surveying the room of their new home, he spotted the familiar bookcase and desk in the corner, there was a single framed picture of Bakura, with a startled look on his face. Both of the teens had been bundle up in winter coats, scarves, hats, and gloves when Ryou snuck a picture of the Egyptian experience snowfall for the first time. Other than the still unfamiliar structure and size of the Japanese bedroom everything seemed in order.

"Damn…" burying his face in his hands he really wished he still smoked, a cigarette sounded so tempting, shaking his head he glanced at the clock; 3 A.M. "Fucking A…" with a groan the male flopped back down on the bed, he wanted to sleep but (as much as he hated to admit it) the dream had spooked him. He hadn't thought about his Father's death for years, why all of sudden now was he having the same nightmares he had when he was younger?

"'Kura?" forcing himself not to jump in surprise he turned to his right to find his bedmate very much awake.

"Figures…" he muttered, Ryou was a light sleeper after all, "sorry if I woke you, go back to bed."

Shaking his head Ryou frowned, "Something's bothering you."

"It was just a nightmare," Bakura admired the way Ryou dressed in his t-shirts which were a bit too big for Ryou, the neck line slipping over one slender shoulder, "…it's…okay, let's just get back to sleep." Pulling the younger male closer he wrapped his arms securely around him, giving off the vibe that it was Ryou that needed soothing. Ryou allowed the close proximity, lightly trailing his fingers along his partner's neck as he lay awake in thought.

"We're suppose to be a team…" it was at night that Ryou often let down his shields if but for a moment and opened up to the other male, when it was harder to see the person in front of you it was easier to pretend they weren't there. Ryou often whispered to Bakura at night, as softly as he could because he didn't want the other male to hear, no, he want Bakura to _listen_.

Ryou was ready to listen, but Bakura never talked. How can it be that Bakura knew Ryou so well, when Ryou could barely make heads or tails of Bakura half the time? How can he continue to blindly trust this man if he never made himself understandable? "…a team..." he trailed off.

Bakura buried his face in Ryou's hair (it was always silkier than his even if they used the same hair products) pretending not to hear the other's mumblings. Ryou grew tense when it became apparent that the Egyptian wasn't going to converse with him tonight, making to pull away from the bare muscular arms that held him he yelped as he was pulled even tighter into the embrace.

"Don't…" Ryou gave a frustrated sigh and squirmed as best he could but it was no use, Bakura was much stronger and even more stubborn, "…just stay." Ryou wondered what kind of nightmare he had had if Bakura was cuddling (more like clinging) to him now…would Bakura tell him in the morning? Most likely not.

_How much longer could this twisted relationship last?_

Ryou woke the next morning to an empty bed, surprised at not being woken by Bakura getting up and even more surprised he had gotten up before him he quickly threw the comforter off and scurried down the hall to see what the Egyptian was up to. Smelling something cooking in the kitchen he's eyes grew wide as saucers (Bakura and a stove? Bad mix) and broke into a run, before he even made it past the living room entrance strong arms swooped him up and threw him over the back of the couch, Bakura rolling himself over to lay himself slightly over the other boy.

Ryou stared into intense chocolate brown eyes; those burning eyes that made Ryou feel naked every time they glanced at him. Did Bakura know that Ryou questioned their compatibility? Did Bakura sense his doubt? Neither breathed, neither looked away, neither knew who moved first. Both sets of lips joined in a tender kiss. Unlike Bakura's usual aggressive dominance, his lips moved fluidly against Ryou's own, melding together in an agonizing but passionately slow manner, as if explore each other's kiss for the first time. Tears pricked at edges of Ryou's vision, this would have to end someday. There was just no way two people as different as they were could make it work…right?

Bakura gently wiped at the gathering tears before they could fall down Ryou's face, he gave a charming smile at the emotional boy beneath him, "Happy Birthday, Ryou." The British teen sobbed without knowing why.

* * *

"_Where are you headed, dear son?"_

_He forgot how he got here, of age and long forgotten, a bottle of booze in one hand a pack of smokes in the other. Stumbling along the shores of the Nile, angry with the world._

"_Nowhere…I'm going nowhere, Mother…" he looked down at his reflection, a young Bakura only eighteen and abandon by everyone, "NOWHERE!" he said chucking the bottle as hard as he could. The motion threw off the male's balanced and he tripped into the shallow lapping waves. 'Why even bother?' he thought to himself, 'I'll just let the river take me.' He took a calming breath and closed his eyes._

_Just above the muting effect of the water in his ears he could hear his mother call out to him, but he did not listen, he did not understand…he didn't want to anyway._

_

* * *

_

November. Domino, Japan.

Bakura opened blurry eyes to the sunrise painting the ceiling orange, the wind chime outside the bedroom window ringing softly with the breeze. It was an oddly tranquil scene to wake to after dreaming about _that_. Bakura hadn't been in the right state of mind when he turned eighteen, seven years later and he still looked back on it being the biggest mistake of his life. If it weren't for that boy Malik saving his sorry ass, Bakura imagined he would well be six feet under by now. The only disturbing part about it was that he had dream of his mother there as well, wasn't right; a parent watching their offspring die.

His thoughts drifted back to reality once more when he noticed that Ryou was pressed against his side shivering, the blankets all wound up tangled around Bakura's ankles. "Oops…" he carefully dislodged himself from Ryou to retrieve the blankets, reach over to pull his feet free he didn't see but felt the small hands on his back, he paused and gave a sly smirk.

"Sorry to wake you, Yadonushi, but…" whatever appealing line Bakura had planned to say died on his lips when the icy voice of his Mother whispered next to his ear.

"_Why do you live?_" she hissed. Bakura gave a shout, flailing awkwardly off the bed to land hard on his backside. Swirling around in frantic caged animal style he quickly surveyed the room. Everything in place, no sign of forced entry into the bedroom, and the only two people in the room were Ryou and himself.

'But it was so real,' Bakura thought to himself, 'like she was actually here…I heard her.' Shaking his head Bakura sat up and crawled carefully back into bed, eyeing the sliding glass door to the tiny balcony and the bedroom door before relaxing a bit. 'No, that's impossible!' Bakura reasoned with himself, 'She's dead.'

* * *

_December. Domino, Tokyo._

Ryou's been noticing lately that Bakura's been acting strangely. The Egyptian seemed more paranoid than usual and he was hardly sleeping these days, it was really starting to worry Ryou. He even came home from work one day to find that Bakura had drunken the two bottles of wine they had stashed away for special occasions as well as a six pack of beer. Ryou knew of Bakura's past incidents involving alcohol so when he found the older male had been passed out hanging half way off the couch, Ryou panicked and ended up calling the hospital to have Bakura's stomach pumped (not something Bakura was particularly happy to wake up to).

After that little scare Ryou made multiple efforts to getting his partner out of the house, border-line terrified of leaving the older male by himself. What bothered Ryou even more so is that Bakura had started giving him the cold shoulder, he refused to tell Ryou why he was having trouble sleeping or why he had taken up drinking once again (whenever the topic came up Bakura hassled Ryou for calling the hospital over nothing). Each day after the incident, Ryou felt the gap that had always been between suddenly stretch to new lengths; the two could be in the same room and yet feel like they were worlds apart.

One night in particular that tore at Ryou's heart was when he had gone to bed alone, they had never slept apart before...even the first day Bakura had moved in with him two years ago, he had somehow snuck his way into Ryou's bed. 'He was smirking the whole time too,' Ryou thought, 'like it was some kind of joke.' But no matter how many times Ryou tried to kick him out, Bakura would always be there when Ryou woke up in the morning and now Ryou had become so accustomed to falling asleep with the warmth of someone next to him. Trying to fall asleep that night had been impossible. Ryou wasn't really mushy, he was romantically awkward and emotionally guarded but that night it was Ryou's turn to sneak into Bakura's bed. Of course Bakura had kept his back turned to the smaller boy, at one point Ryou was sure Bakura had even tried to kick him off the bed, but he reminded stuck to the other, with sleepy determination to be the first thing Bakura awoke to.

Thankfully, the effort to sleep in separate beds was just a one night thing, Bakura came obediently every night again to Ryou's bed but he still would not look at him, would not talk to him, and would not touch him. It was winter in Japan, Christmas was fast approaching and Ryou was held up at work more and more as the holidays crept ever closer, but the worry over their recent relationship issues were driving Ryou crazy. Bakura barely flirted with Ryou anymore, he didn't make perverted cracks at him, it was miracle he even still talked to him. Ryou grew more anxious with every passing day as to what could possibly be wrong.

A week before Christmas Ryou decided to ask Bakura for help at the shop, Bakura had the week off from work and though Ryou felt bad trying to take Bakura's free time away he was still paranoid about leaving him alone in the house.

"Why me? Don't you have that stupid Kaiba kid?" Bakura asked without even looking up from the TV. Ryou frowned, packing up lunch for them both because Bakura was coming with him whether he liked it or not.

"His name's Mokuba, and even with part-time help, this season we get packed with orders to fill. We've been working overtime trying to get everything done; I'd really appreciate an extra hand to get everything ready to ship, please?"

"I don't like," Bakura paused, though the shop had always creeped him out he didn't want to hurt Ryou's feelings, "…the kid, yeah, I don't like the kid!"

Ryou was pulling his jacket on, "I really don't understand why."

Bakura actually got up and turned off the TV, waltzing over to the foyer to get his shoes. "Are you kidding me? The idiotic brat obviously has a crush on you!" Ryou was so startled by the statement he dropped his bag.

"Wha-what?" Bakura shook his head at the younger male's reddening cheeks.

"I swear, you are so dense sometimes." Ryou blinked, watching as Bakura pulled on his own coat. Grasping limply at air for his bag before his fingers actually found the handle, Ryou clumsily retrieved it and slipped into his shoes. Watching Bakura opening the front door something jolted through his chest, grabbing Bakura's shoulder with his free hand he turned the older man around to face him…and he froze. His mind going completely blank, what had he wanted to say? It was there, Ryou knew they were there, words his heart seemed to know but his mind could not quite grasp at.

Bakura watched with a blank face at the emotions battling within Ryou's eyes, not searching just waiting. When it became apparent that Ryou had nothing important to say Bakura shrugged off the younger's hand from his shoulder and turned his back on him.

Ryou couldn't help but notice the look of disappointment on Bakura's face as he walked away.

* * *

Two hours into the work day and Bakura had started to wonder if he was really increasing the production turn out. Given he knew nothing about doll making, he'd been stuck with the easiest part of the job; wrapping the boxes in colorful Christmas paper. It didn't really bother Bakura, he'd rather something that didn't require brain power seeing as this was _suppose_ to be his day off. What _**did**_ bother him was that he had to do this while in the presence of Mokuba Kaiba.

Generally speaking the kid was okay, he was polite, smart, funny (Bakura still wondered if he was really related to Seto). But Mokuba had this blantantly obvious crush on his boss; Ryou.

This pissed Bakura off.

Bakura was possessive, Ryou was his! Even if they didn't define themselves as "boyfriends", "lovers", or even "together", Ryou and Bakura had something. At least, Bakura had thought they did…sure Ryou had been livid with Bakura in the beginning when he found Bakura unannounced on his doorstep nearly two years ago. Ryou always called his flirtations and affectionate compliments "perverted", but so what? Ryou eventually gave in, Bakura knew he would. But it was always Bakura making the first move; Ryou always just went with it. And yet, Ryou always made a big deal about knowing all of Bakura, past and present.

'Ryou has been living with me for two years, isn't the present me good enough?' Bakura wondered if it was too much to ask for Ryou to open up to someone who didn't give Ryou all of himself.

"How's this Ryou?" Bakura shook himself from his private musings to see Mokuba had put his hair up with a yellow ribbon (Bakura suspected that the boy had started growing it out to be more like Ryou). The British doll maker merely smiled at the teen employee with one of his charming laughs. 'Ra, this is making me sick!' Twisted as their 'relationship' was, Ryou was still Bakura's and he certainly wasn't going to watch this crap go on any longer.

"'Kura wait!" Bakura ignored his partner and walked briskly away from the doll shop, pulling his coat tighter around himself and he continued down the shopping alley. For a good few minutes Bakura walked aimlessly just cursing the Kaiba name, by the time he'd walked past the park he had calmed a bit. He contemplated entering it, there were a few kids playing in the snow with their parents socializing on the sidelines, but otherwise it seemed kinda deserted.

Walking towards a bench away from the others he hesitated before sitting. Sighing, he fiddled with his hands in his lap; he did not dare look over at the group of kids and parents. He wondered if he was a masochist for putting himself in this atmosphere, the park would surely attract unwanted attention.

"_Hello dear son._"

'Right on cue.' Bakura thought as ghostly arms wrapped around his shoulders, he swore under his breath, each encounter felt more real than the last. It was making it very difficult to tell which were dreams and which were reality.

He looked to his left and next to him he could see the dark transparent blur that was his Mother, she smiled up at him, her arms falling away suddenly so that her hands could grab at his neck. She grinned excitedly as Bakura choked, actually feeling the nails digging into his throat, he grabbed at her hands trying to pry them away from his neck; he couldn't breathe! His vision was going dark, his movements became slower (weaker), he couldn't breathe.

'Ryou…'

In the distant part of his mind he heard a child screaming. Jolting up he was stunned to find he was no longer on the bench but beneath the swings…wait what? An old man was yelling something at him but his senses were slow on the 'reboot', had he…had he been dreaming?

"Are you okay there, buddy?" the old man was waving his hand in front of Bakura's face. Some kid was still crying, he managed to turn his head to see the parents rushing to get their children out of the park.

"What happened?" Bakura tried to say, his throat hurt like hell and he barely coughed up a broken sentence let alone something understandable. The old man merely shook his head,

"Don't go trying to talk just yet." he said gently pulling Bakura into a sitting position, "Come, we'll get you something warm to drink back at my place."

It took several minutes for Bakura to get over his light headedness enough to walk beside the man to his house (which was attached to a game shop). 'Kame Game?' The man introduced himself as Sugoroku, he started a pot of tea for them both as Bakura lay on the living room couch to rest. Bakura only laid stationary long enough that he felt his breathing was no longer so labored that he could actually hold a conversation before getting up to question the man.

When he walked into the kitchen it was to find the old man on the phone. He realized after a moment, in which Sugoroku gave the physical appearance of Bakura and started to explain his 'condition', that the old man had called the hospital. 'As if I hadn't had enough of that this month,' Bakura thought and made vigorous hand gestures for the man to hang up the phone. Sugoroku appeared to consider, looking the white haired foreigner up and down, he then told the nurse on the other line that Bakura appeared to fine now and gave a good natured farewell before hanging up.

"I do not know the details to your situation, but none the less medical attention may be a fair option in this case." He got busy to serving the tea while Bakura just grumbled.

"I'm fine," Bakura trailed off a bit, "my throat's just a bit sore is all."

"You're lucky that's all it is." Bakura blinked, looking at the old man in confusion. Taking the tea cup offered to him he sipped at the warm liquid and sighed at the soothing sensation before looking Sugoroku in the eye.

"What happened?"

"Well, I was doing some errands, was on my way home when I passed by the park. A child was crying quite loudly, I look over and there you were standing over a little girl, crying her eyes out near the swings. Hm, I assume you pushed her off," the man nodded, "yes, I'm sure that's what happened."

Bakura made to interrupt but the grandpa merely waved his hand dismissively and Bakura gave him a flat look while returning to his beverage sipping. "The little girl ran to her parents and you were just standing there, then you took the swing she was on, put it around your neck and twisted it into a noose."

Bakura nearly choked on his tea, "What?"

"You fell to your knees and started flailing a lot…good thing the swing was already low to the ground or else you would have hung yourself." Bakura gulped, his hand coming up to his throat feeling the marks left being by the chain links. '…nails digging into neck…' his eyes widened as the whole scene pieced itself together.

* * *

On the walk back to the house Bakura repeatedly checked that scarf around his neck was in place, not that he needed to worry about Ryou seeing the fading marks, he wouldn't be back from the shop 'til later in the evening. Part of him felt bad for not going back to help like he had agreed to do but he had bigger problems to face.

Pulling out the deck of cards he had bought from the old man, he shuffled through them with interest. Sugoroku had made an effort to distract Bakura away from the near death moment he had just experienced by introducing him to Duel Monsters. Bakura had to admit it was an intriguing children's card game, he bought the starter and booster packs because he felt in debt to the man in a way and because he also hadn't gotten Ryou something for Christmas yet. Ryou would like this, he liked playing games.

Pausing at one card in particular he withdrew it to exam it closer; Dark Necrofear. Bakura had opened the packs at the game shop so that Sugoroku could explain each one to him.

"The story behind this card…"

Sugoroku had stated that Dark Necrofear is a monster card based upon a tragic misfortune. The blue elf represents the mother and the broken baby toy is her child (the doll freaked Bakura out). Bakura had then assumed out loud that the child had died at which Sugoroku gave a small nod but not in agreement.

"You would be correct in assuming so," the old man's words still echoing in his head, "for most people do believe that to be the case. But look at her face, does that look like the face of a mother whose child has died?" Sugoroku had shaken his head at that point. "No, in actuality it is the mother who has died. The child lives on but the mother calls to it, seeking to drag the child's soul to the pits of hell so that they shall be reunited once more."

Bakura's knuckles were white, he didn't realize he had crumpled the card in his hand.

_

* * *

_

_Christmas Night. Domino, Japan._

Ryou was sitting on the edge of their bed, dressed loosely in one of Bakura's big button up shirts shuffling through the deck of cards given as a gift. Bakura admired the other boy's smile from the dresser as he dressed for bed. Withdrawing the bent card he had taken from the deck, he turned it around in his hand, the blue elf's black eyes (glaring slits of darkness) staring up at him. Throwing it back in the sock draw where he had it hidden for now he turned his back on the dresser and made his way over to the bed.

Ryou put the deck on the night stand next to the bed before Bakura shoved him to other side of the bed, giggling good naturedly at the Egyptian he dove under the covers and beckoned for the older male to join him. Bakura hesitated; sometimes he wondered why he tortured himself by sleeping with his partner. 'So close, yet so far away.'

Slipping into bed next to Ryou he felt the other snuggled up to him, Ryou's bare legs entangled with his loose pj pants, his cold hands touching Bakura's bare chest. How could Ryou not realize how that made Bakura react?

"Night, 'Kura. Happy Christmas."

How much more of this was Bakura going to endure? He had always taken what he wanted, but with Ryou he had been as patient as he could muster. How much longer was Ryou going to string him along?

"Ah! 'Kura what are you-mmph!" Bakura pinned Ryou to bed and kissed him hard. Ryou blinked a little surprised at the sudden make out session but he allowed it. He closed his eyes as Bakura's tongue explore his mouth with a sense of…urgency? Feeling Bakura's big strong hands sneaking their way under his shirt Ryou started to squirm. "Bakura, wait!"

"I can't." Bakura panted as he grinded his hips against the younger male, nipping along Ryou's neck and collarbone. Ryou's eyes widened and he struggled to push the Egyptian off him despite the pleasurable heat pulsing through his loins.

"Bakura, stop it!" Ryou shouted, "We can't do this!"

"Why not?" Bakura bit down on Ryou's ear causing the younger to mewl unwillingly.

"'Cause…we…um…it's not…please, just wait."

"No!" Bakura pulled back, towering over Ryou with a frown marring his perfect face, "I've had it Ryou, I'm not waiting for you anymore." Ryou froze, Bakura sneered down at him and Ryou was sure his heart had stopped beating, the silence was suffocating. "Well? Don't you have anything to say, Yadonushi?"

Ryou panicked, his heart aching to tell Bakura exactly how he felt, his mind going into overdrive. He needed to say it, even if it meant completely exposing himself, being vulnerable to someone else for the first time since his mother and sister died. It's been so long, could he ever feel for someone in that way again? He knew he wanted Bakura, he knew how much he needed him, but was he ready to admit those feelings to this man? Ryou opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

Bakura glared intensely to hide the sudden pang of hurt, his chest felt tight, "Didn't think so."

Removing himself from the bed he grabbed a shirt from the closet, tugging it over his head he left the bedroom without another word. Left laying there a bit stunned at what just happened; Ryou blinked and sat up so fast his neck cricked. Stumbling from the bed he raced out of the room and down the stairs, calling his partner's name frantically. He stopped dead near the front entrance, where the front door had been left wide open. The snow was falling heavily outside obscuring the view of the boy making it impossible to figure out which way Bakura might have run off to.

Gone…

'Damnit Ryou, you moron!' he thought to himself, he knew what he felt for Bakura, he had been too scared to admit to it sure, but he _knew_. Why hadn't he had taken his chance? Why? Cause he was afraid of being left alone with a broken heart? Well here he was, alone and hurting and to think he had been so careful to avoid this very scenario.

'What do I do now?' Ryou thought helplessly, taking a deep breath and picking himself up where he had fallen to his knees to shut the front door. Clutching at his chest he closed his eyes and leaned heavily against the front door, 'It hurts.' All this time keeping his walls up so no one could get inside, so that no one could leave him hurting like this, but Bakura was a thief. He weaseled his way past every obstacle and barrier and took Ryou's heart as if it were the simplest task imaginable.

"So," he asked himself, "what happens next?" Ryou only had one option; he had to make the first move.

* * *

Sugoroku was surprised to find the foreigner standing on his front step that night, with a questioning look he allowed the man in and directed him to the kitchen. Getting some tea ready for them, he suggested that Bakura take a bath to warm himself, directing the man up the stairs, insisting quite strongly on the idea (Bakura was a bit too dazed to argue anyway).

When the grandpa returned downstairs he made a bee-line for Bakura's jacket searching the pockets in hopes to find a cell phone. Finding it in the hidden pocket, he check the call log to see who was called the most; Ryou Bakura. He dialed the number.

Meanwhile, Bakura stood naked before the Japanese style bath, grumbling a bit. He would have preferred a shower but he'd have to settle _as always_. He glanced over his shoulder at the figure sitting upon the porcelain sink, she smirked at him. What disturbed him more was the reflection in the mirror; blue, pointed, with the same sinister expression. 'A mother that wishes to drag her child's soul to hell with her, huh?' With a shutter he turned away, carefully lowering himself into the warm water.

"_Why do you live?_"

Bakura actually thought about it, his mother died before he was even old enough to remember her, his dad was murdered right before his eyes when he was six. He got passed from orphanage to orphanage, never adopted, he grew up a punk, a bad influence to the other kids, his school teachers gave up on him, the _**world**_ gave up on him. What had he to live for?

'Ryou…?'

"_The boy does not return your feelings, no?_" he growled low, feeling her embrace him from behind, he tensed waiting for what she planned to do. "_The child is locked away in his own prison, too protected for even __**you**__ to unlock._"

Bakura sighed, Ryou had been the only good thing he ever had in his life, 'but did I really ever have him?' Bakura slumped against the loving embrace; he was so tired, emotionally drained. Ryou had been his puppet master, stringing him along; Bakura would have done _**anything**_ for that boy. Now he was merely a broken doll.

"_Come, Son. I will take care of you,_" she pulled him under the water, "_for an eternity._"

An eternity with someone who loved him (who had always loved him), it sounded nice.

* * *

When Ryou arrived at the Kame Game shop, after the owner had called him on Bakura's cell to inform him where his partner was, it was to find the place surrounded with cop cars and an ambulance. They had found the Egyptian died, it appeared he had drowned himself. Ryou watched from afar as the EMTs brought out the body on a gurney, covered from view with a crisp white blanket, and loaded it into the vehicle. Ryou stood there stiff and unmoving, praying he'd wake up from this nightmare, he couldn't believe it (he wouldn't).

His other half…gone…

He was alone again…

* * *

R.I.P

* * *

Notes:

*The ending I originally had in mind was all happy and the boys _finally_ admit they both love each other but bleh it sounded _**really**_ cheesy so I rewrote it into tragedy! Hooray angst.

*I added the Dark Necrofear in the bathroom reflection to further emphasize the metaphor of the card and his mother, I wasn't sure if it was needed or not though.

*Ryou would like this, he liked playing games. BAZING! xD

...wow, the way I wrote Bakura and Ryou's relation sounds too much like me and ex... O_O


End file.
